Resistance training provides many benefits for the human body, among them strengthening and toning the muscles, improving cardiovascular condition and reducing body fat stores, as well as increasing bone density. Allowing the body to work in multiple planes (in which a user moves in more than one direction at once) benefits the body by working muscles in ways in which the muscles work every day, sideways, backwards, forward, and diagonally, often at the same time. Furthermore, unbalancing the body while in the course of exercise brings about additional benefits such as proprioception and the strengthening of neutralizer and stabilizer muscles both of which aid in balance. Resistance training is easier to engage in, and will be engaged in more frequently for greater benefit, if the device is portable and can be folded away, under the bed for example, and is of a reasonable weight and size.
Typically, resistance training may consist of weights, weight machines, resistance bands or the use of the body's weight, which are pushed or pulled in order to resist muscle movement. Most resistance training devices are insufficient, in that they are unable to provide a balanced workout using multiple planes and balance elements, while also being portable. For example, weights are heavy and require benches and other accessories to provide a workout which includes multiple muscle, groups. Weight machines are typically bulky, expensive and must be permanently installed in a gym, for example, and operate in only one plane at a time, so a more demanding and beneficial multi-planar workout would be impossible with such machines. Also, many machines do not permit inclusion of a balance component. The use of body weight for resistance training is portable and convenient, however body weight is static, in that it cannot be adjusted for higher or lower resistance and the muscle groups that one may exercise by means of body weight is limited to the position of the body, and some positions may be uncomfortable or downright impossible. Therefore, a portable workout system using resistance bands, such as springs, elastic bands and elastic tubes, which is capable of providing a variety of exercises in a variety of planes, with the potential to use instability for balance training, is desirable. The prior art has not successfully addressed these deficiencies.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,171 discloses a resistance-band machine that uses a chair-like structure as a workout bench to provide a variety of exercises for the user, with the level of resistance variable by means of the resistance bands. This machine, while providing some benefits, is not portable, and only provides a limited range of exercises to the user.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,110, a spring-actuated portable weight training device is disclosed; however its application is limited to a few exercises which require compression between two points, such as between the wrists when the user is performing chest flys. It does not allow a user to pull against a static point, for example.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2007/0037678 discloses an exercise system which comprises a rigid backing member, and having resistance bands attached to handles on the sides, to facilitate a variety of exercises. However, the invention does not provide a means to use the balance of an individual during the exercise and due to the resistance band placement and the use of handles only instead of bodily attachment straps, the range of possible exercises is limited.
Accordingly, due to the shortcomings of the prior art, there remains a need for a portable exercise system which uses resistance bands to permit a user to engage in a variety of exercises in a variety of planes, with the option of using his or her balance to augment the benefit of the exercise.